Elements of Tap water - What does Tap water Contain?

You probably don't stop to wonder what, exactly, is in your tap water when you turn on your faucet. You probably aren't concerned with the elements of tap water and don't wonder "what does tap water contain?" It is likely that all you care about is that when you turn on your faucet water comes out that is relatively clean and will not make you sick. It will probably surprise you then, all of the work that goes into creating the tap water that you drink.

Here is a list of facts about the elements of tap water:

Tap water is actually more regulated than bottled water. While tap water is regulated by the EPA and the Environmental Protection Agency, bottled water is only regulated by the EPA and can contain more toxins than tap water will ever be allowed to contain including E.coli and asbestos.

Tap water gets tested hundreds of time each month while other kinds of water are only tested once a week or not at all.

Tap water is required to be disinfected before it can be released to the public and it must either be filtered to remove pathogens or be gained from a source that is strictly protected.

Tap water must be tested for the viruses Giardia and Cryptosporidium.

Tap water is only allowed to have 15ppm of lead, though the only way to make sure if your home's tap water is meeting this regulation is to have it tested.

Some water can contain a high level of magnesium and calcium ions. This water is called "hard" water and while it is safe to drink, it is inconvenient for home owners.

Nitrates are the most common element of tap water, followed closely by phosphates.

Iron and manganese are also commonly found in tap water.

Tap water is monitored for more than one hundred contaminants and subjected to almost ninety safety and quality regulations.

The United States has some of the strongest tap water regulations in the world.

A lot of the water systems in North America add a small amount of fluoride to the water to help prevent tooth decay…a strategy that has been working. In areas that have fluoridated water, cavity rates have dropped by as much as forty percent.

Tap water supplies are tested every single day.

Tap water is so common place that we don't usually take time to think about what goes into making sure that it is available and that it is safe for our consumption when it comes out of our faucets. The chemicals and other ions vary from place to place so the question "what does tap water contain" cannot be answered in a definitive way, though a simple test will tell you exactly what elements are in your tap water. If the elements of tap water concern you, water filters have gotten much more affordable in recent years, and bottled water is one of the largest industries in the world. Water is essential to our daily lives and it is nice to know exactly what goes into making our tap water readily available.